


DVD Extra: Dom down the Hall Universe & Character Notes

by Polly_Phemus (orphan_account)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Multi, character guide, dvd extra, infodump, story notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 08:20:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11398728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Polly_Phemus
Summary: Not a story!These are some general, rather slapdash, notes on this particular BDSM AU, some of which are an expansion on things mentioned in passing in the stories themselves.  There's no narrative content; just infodump.  There are references to domestic abuse as part of the background of how relationships work in this world, so please be cautious if you find that a difficult topic to read about.There are also character notes on pretty much everyone, including some characters who, so far, have only been mentioned in passing but whomayshow up in later stories.  The briefer ones will get updated if/when the characters end up participating more in the stories.  Unlike the general universe notes, the character notes are just a handy collection of things that have already been mentioned, or at least strongly implied, in the stories themselves.Like the Timeline DVD Extra, I wrote these basically for my own reference and am posting them because I can find them easily that way.  Some readers may find this stuff interesting; if so, I'm glad, but nobody's missing anything relevant to the story if they skip this.





	DVD Extra: Dom down the Hall Universe & Character Notes

General Universe Notes:

This universe is predicated on the idea that people's primary sexual, social and legal identity comes not from their biological sex but from whether or not they are dominant or submissive. If anyone, dom or sub, breaks the law or violates a social norm, the most common form of punishment comes in the form of physical discipline rather than incarceration or financial penalties (as the law has developed over the centuries, however, corporal punishment has become more expensive -- compensation is owed for the time and effort of the person doing the punishment, legal witnesses, medical supervision, and so on. That expense is placed on the offender, so while the government doesn't fine offenders, getting disciplined can be a pretty expensive proposition).

Also, because many people in this universe are known to be masochists, everyone's pain tolerance levels are calibrated when they are twelve, regardless of dynamic, which gives them what's called a Masochism Index Level ranging from 0 (no masochistic tendencies whatsoever) to ten (highest possible level). Although the term "masochism" is used for this score, the calibration just as importantly takes into account how much a person can tolerate pain whether or not they find it sexually arousing. When corporal punishment is sentenced, the MIL is taken into account (sometimes the means by which the punishment is administered will be modified when carried out after sentencing, as happened in Jared's case). The MIL is also considered important because if a dom who has high tolerance for pain pairs off with a sub who's low on the MIL, there could be disastrous unintended consequences [think about any time you've ever had a friend who thought you were being a big baby when you stubbed your toe and was really mean about the pain you were suffering...now imagine that person as a sexual partner]. People can also choose to have their Sadism Index Level determined any time after they've turned sixteen, but unlike the MIL, it's not a legal requirement

In this universe, submissives have, after a long European/European-American history of oppression, begun to make legal gains. It's not unusual for subs to have careers and even college educations, and many single subs live on their own and can even own real estate, although if they have a mortgage, it has to be co-signed by a dominant who has a significant family or legal relationship to the sub. Subs are automatically assigned a lower credit rating (and higher interest fees on loans) than doms with identical credit histories and income/income potential.

In the past, subs often only went in public spaces while being collared and leashed, frequently without clothes if the weather permitted. That was a tradition that started to die out after Sub Queen Victoria married, at first in deference to the monarchy. The rise of photography really killed it though; doms and most subs were comfortable with subs parading around their own communities naked, but the thought of being caught unawares in street photography that could be seen anywhere in the world made doms uncomfortable.

Doms serve in the military equally regardless of biological sex; some countries have mandatory military service for doms, but the United States only implements that in times of national emergency. In the twentieth century, subs began serving in the military but have only been fully integrated into combat units in a handful of countries; the US is not among them. Some countries have national non-military service requirements of all citizens regardless of dynamic (although the form that service takes is generally based on individual dynamic, ability and preference); again, the US is not one of those countries although volunteer activities are strongly encouraged for any citizen who can participate.

The Sub Liberation Movement in Europe and the Americas began in the 1800s, although it was not called that until the 1960s, when it became more widespread and began to effect noticeable change in laws and society (previously, changes in laws and social customs that benefited subs were usually initiated by doms). Doms involved in or supportive of the Sub Liberation Movement are usually referred to as "sub allies" (although there are more derogatory terms used for such doms).

Subs have been active in politics since the dawn of time, but usually in a "power behind the throne" kind of way. In the US, subs have had full voting rights since 1930 and have served in both elected and appointed political office. The most prominent sub in the US political landscape was Bill Clinton, who is pledged to Hillary Clinton, who served as president of the United States from 1993 to 2001; Bill was elected to Senate just as his dom was leaving office, then he served as Secretary of State from 2009-2013, when he officially retired from politics to concentrate on public speaking philanthropic work. 

Sex and relationships:

Everyone in this universe is _assumed_ to be bisexual, with their sexual preferences dictated solely by their impulse to be dominant or submissive. Most people's dynamic is identified early in life by their caregivers, much as parents figure out whether or not their infant is right- or left-handed. Mistakes can be made, particularly since the accepted options are so narrow; see notes on "Other-Identified" below. 

Since a couple could be just as easily same-sex as not, parentage and parenting can get complicated. If a same-sex couple wants a child, they usually will work out something with another same-sex couple; there are a lot of varieties on how conception itself and subsequent social, legal and economic arrangements are carried out. It's a huge branch of family law. Although there has been some research into genetic manipulation to create embryos with both genetic contributions coming from members of the same sex (male-male or female-female), this technology is in its infancy. "Test tube" conception is common, but embryos need to gestate in a woman's womb. [There are many excellent MPREG stories in the world but this won't be one of them.]

Being sexually active outside of a committed relationship is common and encouraged (although anything beyond general fooling around is illegal below the age of sixteen unless there's a compelling legal reason to allow it), although the social ideal is that eventually people will pair off (polyamory happens and is slowly gaining ground as a socially accepted practice, but in the US there is no legal recognition of poly partnerships). Because it is a highly sexualized society, STDs are taken very seriously by researchers and public health officials and given the same level of research and awareness as nonsexual health issues. Contraception is freely available and its use encouraged; abortion is legal but rarely occurs outside medical emergencies since society is structured to maximize social, emotional and financial support for both dom and sub women who experience an unwanted pregnancy. While terms like "slut" are used, the connotation is more affectionate than condemning and calling someone a slut during sex is done more to highlight that person's eagerness and sex drive rather than to suggest that there's something wrong with them for liking sex. (However, some individuals, particularly those who are dynamic-dysphoric, have very different feelings about all of this.)

Public displays of affection or even outright sexual behavior are common (although full-on public sex has fallen out of fashion), and since it's a BDSM world, those displays can include BDSM elements; a dom spanking her sub in the park on a Sunday is not an uncommon sight and could be discipline or just plain making out.

Dating: Doms and subs go on dates; when they're in the young/emerging adult phase of life, these dates are frequently arranged by their parents, sometimes in the hopes of fostering social or economic alliances. Within the last couple of decades, however, dating has become a little more free-form.

Courtship: A tradition that's pretty much gone; after a couple of dates, a dom would apply to the familial dom (parent or guardian) of a sub they're interested in having a relationship with for permission to see that sub on a more frequent basis. Once given permission, a dom is expected to take more interest and care in the sub they're courting than they did while dating and both the sub and the dom are expected to not date other people during courtship.

Sealing: Has pretty much replaced courtship; a dom and sub commit to an exclusive relationship but without having gone through the sub's parents. The same notion that the dom is stepping up his or her level of care for the sub applies, though.

Promising: A step up in commitment from sealing, somewhat analogous to an engagement. However, the "sealing" and "promising" relationships can have some overlap. Both are considered to be trials for a lifetime commitment and usually include living together at some point (the difference between "sealing" and "promising" is a little blurry and the terms are used differently both regionally and generationally). 

Pledging: A sub pledges himself or herself to a dom when he or she is as sure as possible that they've met the dom they want to spend their lives with. Breaking a pledge rarely happens and is legally complicated. Thanks to the Sub Liberation Movement, the US and other countries have begun implementing laws to make it easier for subs to break their pledges if their doms become abusive. In 1993, North Carolina and Oklahoma became the last states to recognize pledge partner rape as a crime. [Note: in _our_ universe, those two states were, in 1993, the last two withdraw marital exemptions to rape laws; the state-by-state process of criminalizing marital rape started in the 1970s.] Since pledging is taken very seriously, not all committed couples take that step; some couples live together their entire lives without a pledge.

Other-Identifiers: This BDSM universe has an as-yet largely unrecognized proportion of people who do not fit neatly into the categories of "dominant" and "submissive." They and their allies use the umbrella term of "Other-Identified" to describe themselves (much as the term "Queer" is used in the US). They also use more specific terms relating to their individual circumstances, such as "switch" (person who feels comfortable being either a dom or a sub) or "homodynamic" (person who feels sexual attraction primarily or exclusively to people who share their dynamic). Since the society as a whole is so dom/sub oriented, very few people outside the Other-Identified community have heard the term "heterodynamic" (person who feels sexual attraction to people who have the opposite dynamic). Since the general feeling is "that's just how it works," nobody realizes that they can be labeled. There are also people who, while falling solidly on one side or the other of the dom/sub scale, feel attraction primarily or exclusively to males or females. While rare, they are not marginalized for their preferences; they simply date and pair off with the people they want to be with and the only stigma associated with having a strong or exclusive preference regarding the biological sex of their partners comes in the form of being gently teased by friends and family about being "narrow." This is nearly always intended to be good-natured fun rather than marginalizing micro-aggression and is taken as such, although it probably does get tiresome. [Kind of like an our-world straight woman who has a marked preference for dating dark-haired men.]

Dynamic affectation: A term used to refer to people who are believed to be pretending to be a dynamic that is not "natural" to them. Misha believes that dom actor Tom Cruise is actually a sub, and there have been rumors going around for over sixty years about Rock Hudson, a tall, broad-shouldered handsome actor who was most famous for playing the sub love interest to Doris Day's dom leading ladies in a variety of popular romantic comedies. Now in his nineties, alive and well and living in Palm Springs, Hudson has never confirmed that he's in fact a dom; he just gets a twinkle in his eye when asked.

Social notes:

Dominants are addressed as "Mr. [Last Name]" or "Ms. [Last Name]" depending on biological sex.

Unattached submissives are formally addressed as "Submissive [Last Name]" or "Sub [Last Name]." More progressive people try to use a submissive's full name rather than "Sub [Last Name]." If a character is referred to by their full name, it's safe to assume that character is a sub and the speaker has progressive social attitudes.

Promised and pledged submissives are usually formally addressed as "Promised Submissive [Dom's Last Name]" or "Pledged Submissive [Dom's Last Name];" more informally, "Promised Sub [Dom's Last Name]" or "Pledged Sub [Dom's Last Name]." In some cases, subs who are promised but not pledged retain their original surnames. Generally, a pledged sub will take their dom's surname, but doms have been known to take their sub's surname, or sometimes the couple will pick out a new surname to share.

Both doms and subs sometimes wear significant jewelry. At their thirteenth birthday, a sub is traditionally given "presentation collar" while doms receive a pair "presentation cuffs." These are usually worn only on special occasions, and are gifts from parents, legal guardians, or other adult family or friends of the family. When they wear their cuffs, doms can wear them on either the right wrist, the left wrist or both; the decision on which side to wear a cuff or to wear both cuffs is based solely on personal preference and comfort and carries no connotation about their sexual preferences. "Unattached" or "single" collars and cuffs are fastened with snaps, indicating that the dom or sub put their own collar on and will be taking it off. Promised or pledged presentation collars and cuffs are fastened with buckles; while they can still be put on by the wearers themselves, the more complicated fastenings suggest that a dom has fastened their sub's collar and that a sub has fastened their dom's cuffs. Promised and pledged couples wear their collars and cuffs more frequently than unattached people do, but not all the time. A major exception to this: when single doms and subs are at social events or out clubbing with other singles (or at events that are primarily attended by singles), they'll wear they collars or cuffs to indicate social availability. If they're out clubbing to have a good time dancing and hanging out but not looking to hook up, they won't wear them. As of July 5, 2017, it is unknown if wedding rings are used in this universe. 

Doms and subs, weather male or female, wear makeup as it suits them or as is appropriate for their office environment; the fact of wearing makeup carries no masculine, feminine, dominant or submissive connotations. However, how the makeup is specifically worn can carry social signals (for example, at Jensen's law firm, he and his colleagues all wear lipstain in severe colors).

Character Notes

Major Characters so far:

[These characters, except for Aunt Lucy, have all, as of July 6, 2017, appeared in stories and had dialogue. They are all also all extremely likely to return to the stories at some point as characters who have dialogue and, to one degree or another, interactions with Jared and Jensen.]

Jared Padalecki, a sub, was born July 19, 1991, in San Antonio, Texas, making him twenty-five at the start of the story. Raised in a very traditional household by a dom mother and a sub father, he and his progressive Aunt Lucy persuaded his mother to let him go to UT San Antonio, where he earned a BS in Nutrition and Science Management through the school's Home Economics program. After serving internships, part-time and summer jobs at residential care facilities in San Antonio during college, he started his professional life at Atlanta Pines Elder Care, a non-profit senior residential center in Atlanta, where he quickly advanced to the position of Director of Nutritional Services. In that capacity, he manages the facility's kitchens and all food-related equipment and inventory, supervises the general dining needs of both residents and staff and works to meet any special health, religious or ethical dietary requirements needed by residents or staff. He has a brother and a sister. (Jared first introduced in "Beat Cute.")

Jensen Ackles, a dom, was born March 1, 1988, in Dallas, Texas, making him twenty-nine at the start of the story. He was raised by two fairly progressive parents; Jensen earned a BA in cinema studies from UT Austin, then went to Vanderbilt University for law school. He now works at Sheppard Associates in probate law, as well as doing pro-bono work for the Greater Atlanta Coalition against Domestic Violence [that's a fictional organization, but _our_ Atlanta and other communities have similar organizations and they can always use help]. He has at least one brother. (Jensen first introduced in "Beat Cute.")

Aunt Lucy, a dom, is Jared's father's paternal aunt, she raised Jared's dad when his parents were killed in a car crash. A very progressive woman with a love for travel, she helped Jared to convince his mother that he should be allowed to go to college and pursue a career. Her opinions are highly respected in the Padalecki household, even by Jared's super-traditional dom mother. (First referenced in "Beat Cute.") 

Danneel Harris, a dom, is a medic who supervises corporal punishment. She contracts her services as they're needed; her primary client is Sheppard Associates, Jensen's law firm, and she has been friends with Jensen for a long time. (First introduced in "Responsibility, Contrition....")

Osric Chau, a dom, is an intern at Sheppard Associates. Despite his youth and the short time he has been at the firm, he has earned Jensen's respect and trust, as well as that of other Sheppard Associates personnel. Friendly and polite, he already has a fan in Jared. (First introduced in "Responsibility, Contrition....")

Misha Collins is Jared's friend, whom he met at Atlanta Pines. Misha is a polymathic freelancer; at Atlanta Pines, he gives instruction in yoga as well as macrame and other crafts. His personal life is rather chaotic, and he likes it that way. Although legally classified as a sub, Misha is a switch. (First referenced in "Riding;" introduced in "Twenty Four Hours....") 

Annabelle Padalecki is Jared's dom mother (biological as well as legal). A business manager and a strong traditionalist, she straps Jared's dad at least once a week whether he's done anything wrong or not. Jared has been on numerous bad dates she set up for him, mostly with the dom children of her business associates or other members of the community she thought would be "appropriate" for him (and potentially useful to her business and/or social life). While she was initially against Jared's going to college, she agreed to release some of his dowry funds to pay for tuition as long as he agreed to enroll in a Home Economics program; he's repaying his dowry fund at a hefty clip. Once he started college, she became more supportive and even helped him with his small-business coursework. She met Stephen in 1983 while he was recovering from injuries sustained in an abusive relationship; he pledged himself to her in 1985.(First referenced in "Beat Cute;" introduced in "Start Spreading the News.") 

Stephen Padalecki is Jared's sub father (biological as well as legal). He was raised by his progressive Aunt Lucy, but has become a staunch traditionalist in his relationship; he even kneels by Annabelle's side during dinner. He helped support Annabelle while she was earning her MBA by hand knitting high-quality bespoke sweaters (one a week, earning him about $1,600 per piece in 2017 dollars; the figure of $400 a sweater Jared gave in "Holding Hands" was not inflation-adjusted). Before the children were born, however, he retired from economic activity and kept house while still teaching knitting on the side for free. In 1982, he was in an abusive relationship which culminated in his hospitalization. In 1983, he met Jared's mother, to whom he pledged himself in 1985. (First referenced in "Beat Cute;" introduced in "Start Spreading the News.") 

David Ross Ackles is Jensen's dom dad and biological father. He earns a steady living as an actor working in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. He acts under his birth name, David Ross, but took his pledged sub's family name, Ackles, to honor his sister-in-law, who donated eggs so that he and his sub could have biological children together. (First referenced in "Saturday Morning Communications," introduced in "Family and Promises")

Patrick Ackles is Jensen's sub dad and biological maternal uncle. He's a former martial arts champion who, in addition to keeping house, teaches sub self-defense on a voluntary basis throughout his community. He retained his birth surname when he pledged to his dom, David Ross, who took the Ackles name. (First referenced in "Saturday Morning Communications," introduced in "Family and Promises")

Jennifer Carmen Ackles (1966-1988) was Jensen's biological mother and Patrick's dom sister. She had a heart condition which was not genetic and, not expecting to live long, donated her eggs to her older sub brother and his dom, David Ross Ackles. Fortunately, her fraternal twin sons, Jensen Ross Ackles and Carter Ross Ackles, were born in short order and she lived long enough to see them take their first steps and hear them call her "Mama." She had a lifelong fascination with dragons and was a gifted artisan with leather and wood, creating many pieces to leave to her sons, including sub collars and dom cuffs for them to present to their significant others when the time came. (Referenced in "Family and Promises")

[Mark] Sheppard: dom Senior Partner of Sheppard Associates. His pledged sub, Sebastian, runs a gallery. (Introduced in "A Sociable Intervention")

Emily Perkins: Day-shift kitchen supervisor at Atlanta Pines. (First mentioned in "A New Set of Marks;" fully introduced in "A Sociable Intervention")

 

Genevieve Cortese: Assistant to the Atlanta Pines director; started work while Jared was recovering from his corporate corporal. New to Atlanta, she's intense on the job. (First mentioned in "A New Set of Marks;" fully introduced in "A Sociable Intervention")

RPF Characters Mentioned but (as of July 4, 2017) Not Yet Fully in the Stories:

[Note: Felicia, Mark and Vicki are the ones mostly likely to come into the stories as characters; the others might show up or they might not.]

Alona Tal, sub buddy of Jared's from college who majored in household appliance design and now works in product development at QVC. She and Jared frequently send each other boxes of random products they've been asked to evaluate.

Professor [Samantha] Ferris: dom household appliance design professor at Jared's college. She once gave Alona three with a cane for a late paper (Alona chose the corporal over the other option of a reduced grade); Alona eventually decided to continue studying with her.

Professor [Sera] Gamble: sub nutritional science professor at Jared's college. She hates iceberg lettuce and loves gambling metaphors.

Felicia [Day]: a dom buddy of Jared's from college who is politically active in progressive causes.

Vicki [Vantoch]: a dom Misha's interested in; he came out to her as a switch and while she told him that she has no submissive tendencies of her own, she tends to be polyamorous. Misha is hopeful that this may lead somewhere.

Chad Michael Murray: dom who took Jared out on a date in high school; tried to convince him that blue balls can be fatal. When Jared demanded to be taken home immediately or Chad would find out that blue balls are not the worst pain a person can feel, Chad decided that Jared was one badass sub and unsuccessfully lobbied to get him on the wrestling team. On at least one occasion after that incident, Jared enlisted his help to get out of a bad date; presumably they had other adventures.

Coach [Mitch] Pileggi: The wrestling coach at Jared's high school who couldn't let Jared on the wrestling team because school policy disallowed subs from the sport. That made Coach Pileggi sad. He still coaches, and recommends Stephen Padalecki's knitting classes to his athletes who want to improve their hand-eye coordination and dexterity.

OMC:

Carter Ross Ackles, Jensen's dom fraternal twin, teaches high school chemistry and is unattached. (First referenced in "In-House Laundry Service," named and described more fully in "Family Promises")

Atlanta Pines Elder Care OFCs and OMCs:

Diane "Boss Lady" Griffin: The dom who serves as the facility's director. She likes Jared and encourages him professionally. (Introduced but not named in "Beat Cute," referred to in "Twenty Four Hours..." and conversed with Jared in "A Story to Tell.")

Ms. Diane Wilson: Unofficial leader of APEC's observant Jewish community. A dom and a traditionalist, Jared thought she disapproved of him as a sub running an important department at the facility but now thinks she's actually more concerned about his relative youth and lack of professional experience. She seems to be warming to him. (First referenced in "Responsibility, Contrition...")

Ms. Iskander: A dom centenarian resident who is nearly blind and suffers from terrible arthritis. (First referenced in "Responsibility, Contrition...")

Mr. Gold: A dom resident who has excellent handwriting and calligraphy skills. (First referenced in "Responsibility, Contrition...")

Harry Alexander: A sub resident who treasures his grandmother's recipe for chicken and dumpling soup. (First referenced in "Twenty Four Hours...")

And, of course! Jared's dogs:

Zucchini [Blossom]: an older female Airedale who would rather sit in a patch of sunshine and watch the world go by than do anything else. When being bathed, she would also like to be provided with peeled grapes, if it's not too much trouble. (Referenced in "Beat Cute," but not named until "Riding.")

Cardamom, known as Cardy: a year old male mixed breed who likes chasing sticks, Frisbees, butterflies and pretty much anything else that can be chased. When being bathed, he will make numerous escape attempts...not because he hates bathtime but because making Jared chase after him is fun. (First referenced in "Beat Cute," but not named until "Riding.")

Polly's Very Own Special Private Notes:  
HTML for linking to other codes: less than a href equal sign quote URL quote greater than link text less than slash a greater than; only use a space between "a" and "href" and in the link text as necessary. (Every time I try to cut and paste the actual code, I just get a link and that does me no good and frankly I am sick of having to go looking for instructions every. damn. time.)

**Author's Note:**

> Literally one minute after I posted this, I read a comment on "Saturday Morning Communications" in which someone was quite logically curious to know how, if Jensen has two dads, did Jensen himself "come to be." While I'd already put in the character notes about Jensen's dads (with a vague reference to his biological mom), I realized I hadn't put anything in the general notes about how parentage works in this AU. So I owe many thanks to the person who asked for getting me to think about that and put it in writing. Basically, I got prompted for a piece literally no one had even had a chance to read yet! This tickles me.


End file.
